Printing and crimping aluminum seal closures

ABSTRACT

A process and apparatus for printing indicia by indentation on vial or bottle seal closures made of soft stock, such as aluminum. The marking is impressed on the closure while it is capped over a glass vial or bottle held in position with resilient chucks which turn the bottle, and thereafter while the bottles are still being turned the closure is crimped under the flange or shoulder of the bottle by rotating against a crimping or curling bar. The indicia may be letters or numbers.

United States Patent [72] lnventors George Spencer Bott [56] References Cited w$i l -J-Ii!I l P Hr N Y UNITED STATES PATENTS 1am enry ar ow, ear iver,

[ pp No. 772,096 'llgwr et al 53/513314); [221 Filed 2'139573' 12/1938 1300a; 53/131 Patented y 1971 [73] Assignee American Cyanamid Company Primary Examiner-Theron Condo" Stamf rd, (1 Assistant Examiner-Neil Abrams Attorney-Norton S. Johnson [54] gt g g gg CRKMPING ALUMINUM SEAL ABSTRACT: A process and apparatus for printing indicia by 5 Cl 5 D indentation on via] or bottle seal closures made of soft stock, alms rawmg such as aluminum. The marking is impressed on the closure [52] US. Cl. 53/131, while it is capped over a glass vial or bottle held in position 1 53(1129, l0l/7 with resilient chucks which turn the bottle, and thereafter [51] Int. Cl B65b 61/26, while the bottles are still being turned the closure is criniped B67b 5/04 under the flange or shoulder of the bottle" by rotating against a [50] Field of Search 53/ 1 31, 14, crimping or curling bar. The indicia may be letters or numbers.

PATENTED MAY 4am sum 1 OF 3 INVENTORS, GEORGE SPENCER 5077' gfi/(LL/AM HENRY MARLOW A TTORA/EY PATENTEUHAY 4:91: 3571.701

' SHEET 3 BF 3 INVEN R8. GEORGE SPENCER B 7' WILL/AM HENRY MARLOW VrAW ATTORNEY PRINTING AND CRIMPING ALUMINUM SEAL CLOSURES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In many manufactured articles identification of the contents of a packaged product or article is important. This is particularly true in the pharmaceutical industry because absolute identification is essential with products which deal with health or with the treatment of disease. These products are usually put up in bottles or vials, and identification often needs to include identification of a particular batch of material.

When pharmaceuticals are manufactured and packaged, there is often a delay in applying the ordinary type of label. This is particularly true if the bottle or vial is to move in commerce in a number of countries because this may require labels in different languages, and as a result often the goods are packaged on one date and only labeled on a later date. Possibilities 'of mislabeling thus arise and can be very serious.

It is quite customary in the pharmaceutical industry and in some others to use seal closures on the top of vials and the like. These closures may be of soft metal, such as aluminum, which is very common, and the closure may be only the aluminum cap or this may hold iri stoppers or other closures for the vials. In any event, this is usually accomplished by placing a cap-shaped aluminum closure over the vial and then crimping the aluminum under the rim of the vial so that it is held permanently in position. The seal closure may be marked for identification, and this may be done either before placing on the vial or after crimping. If the identification is made after crimping, the pressure applied to indent or emboss indicia on the soft metal cap may disfigure or even loosen the seal. When the seals are marked before they are applied to the vials, which, in general, can be considerably cheaper, problems similar to those described above in connection with labeling occur. Mistakes in putting the wrong seal closure on a vial are possible, and also, unless care is taken to mark exactly the right number of closures, this can result in further losses. If there should be too few closures, then the marking has to be resumed at a later date at much increased cost; and if an excess of closures are marked, the excess closures also represent an economic loss. Another important problem is presented by the fact that if a seal closure is marked before it is applied to a bottle or via], the marking may be damaged or altered during the subsequent crimping operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with a machine and method for marking and affixing seal closures, such as aluminum seal closures, to bottles and vials. Essentially the process applies a seal closure,'such as aluminum, by capping it loosely over the top of a bottle, holding it in this position firmly, rotating the bottle, marking it as it rotates by indentation or embossing of letters or other symbols on the aluminum, and finally, crimping while the cap is still firmly held and without contacting any portion of the marked surface of the cap with the crimping elements. The cap cannot be tilted or the marking damaged, and of course there is no chance of misplacing the marking or false marking, as is the case with labels or other markings which are applied at a later date. The aluminum cap is clearly and elegantly marked, and an effective seal closure results.

From the apparatus aspects of the present invention, the vials can be fed onto a suitable conveyor, preferably a rotating table, the caps loosely placed over the bottles, either manually or by automatic feed, and then rotatable chucks brought down on the cap on each bottle. These chucks perform two functions as the bottle moves along the turntable, either continuously or intermittently: The chucks turn in synchronism, and when the vials have reached the point where marking takes place, the turning cap is successively aligned with type bars which are forced into the aluminum, resulting in the marking of the seal with the desired coded label for the particular curling or crimping bar oriented to crimp the bottom skirt ofv the aluminum cap under the rim or shoulder of the bottle or vial. After crimping, the vials move beyond the crimping mechanism and can be unloaded, either manually or automatically. Thereupon new vials are loaded, again either manually or automatically, and the marking and crimping continues.

It should be noted that the chucks, of course, are raised slightly at the points where marked and crimped vials are unloaded and are brought down in contact with the caps of freshly loaded vials with the caps loosely applied at the proper point in the rotary table. In order to assure firm grip of the cap and bottle by the chuck, the latter is preferably spring loaded and may have its surface slightly hollowed to get a better grip on the caps.

The type bars, which are of course held side-by-side horizontally in a suitable type holder, may be urged against the soft aluminum by spring or other pressure or, in a preferred form, may also be subjected to rapid vibration, for example by ultrasonic vibrators. Such vibration produces a sharper and more elegant marking, but ordinary spring pressure is quite adequate to effect a satisfactory marking and crimping where the maximum of elegance is not required.

As the general organization of bottle capping with rotating chucks holding the caps has been proposed before, it is an advantage that the elements of the present invention can be attached to existing machines or the machines only somewhat modified, which is an economic advantage as it does not require the construction of new types of machines from the ground up. The application of soft metal caps to bottles or vials has been effected in the past in various automatic machines, and the loosely placed caps on the bottles before the process of the present invention is performed can, therefore, be effected quickly and economically in known types of machines. This portion of the operation is, therefore, not new' by itself and permits using known types of equipment. It is also, of course, possible to apply loosely the caps by hand, and while automatic machines can reduce labor costs and speed up production, the placing loosely of caps on bottles can be effected very rapidly by hand and so in some cases such manual operation may be desired. Of course when manual operation is effected, the problem of changing from one size of bottle to another does not arise. However, as in most cases quite large batches which may amount to thousands of vials are the rule, automatic preliminary capping often presents worthwhile savings.

Even when runs or batches of smaller numbers of vials are concerned, the present invention can be effectively used because type holders can be rapidly interchanged or reloaded with a new stock of character dies and so no serious interruption of operation results.

The present invention is well suited for use with aluminum seal closures, which are the most common form in the pharmaceutical industry at the present time. However, of course, the invention is not concerned with the particular material of which the seal closures are made so long as it is sufficiently deformable and sufficiently thick to receive the embossed or indented markings. Other materials, such as deformable plastics and the like, are equally effectively used in the present invention, which adds to it a desirable flexibility and versatility. Because of the common use of aluminum, in the more specific descriptions which follow below an aluminum seal closure will be described as representing a typical use of the invention, without, however, limiting the invention thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view, partly broken away, of a turntable with the printing and crimping mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section on an enlarged scale of a vial just before encountering the marking mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a similar section after marking has been completed but before crimping has started;

FIG. 4 is a similar cross section at a later point during crimping, and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic cross section across the whole of the turntable with a crimped and marked vial removed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a turntable l in plan view with a number of vials 2. The turntable rotates slowly by a central shaft 3 on top ofwhich there appears an upper holder 4 for a series of chucks 5, one for each vial. The mechanism for raising and lowering the chucks at proper intervals is not new in the bottle capping art, and therefore is shown only diagrammatically.

The apparatus is provided with a type holder 6 and with a curling or crimping bar 7 which extends around a little less than half of the turntable circumference. The crimping bar 7 is supported by a crimping bar support 8, which is provided with a rubber ring 9 which turns the chucks 5. This can best be seen in FIGS. 2 to 4.

Turning particularly to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, which show a vial just before it is entering the printing zone with the vial itself and its cap in cross section, it will be seen that there is provided an aluminum cap 10 which fits loosely over the top of the vial, including its stopper I1 and a skirt 12, which will be crimped about the flange or rim of the vial 13, as will be described below.

The type holder 6 is provided with a number of type bars 14 arranged horizontally in a recess and held in place by a plate 15. Below this there is a guide 16 so that the type holder 6 can move horizontally in a straight line.

' In FIGS. 2 and 3 it will be seen that there is a threaded extension 17 on holder 6 into which a bolt 18 is screwed. The head portion of the bolt passes through an unthreaded clearance hole in an extension 19 on the curling bar support 8. A spring 20 surrounds the bolt 18 bearing against the extension 19 and extension 17 and urges resiliently the type bars against the cap 10. It is possible to operate with this spring only, or the type holder extension 17 can contact an ultrasonic vibrator of conventional design so that as the marking proceeds there is a very high frequency vibration of the type holder and, therefore, the individual character dies. This ultrasonic vibrator is shown at 21 on FIG. 1 in the form of a block as the internal structure of the ultrasonic vibrator forms no part of the present invention and a conventional vibrator may be used. In order not to confuse the drawings, the vibrators are not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The operation of the process and apparatus of the present invention proceeds as follows: Vials 2 are loaded on springloaded or other resilient pads 23, on the turntable 1. The turntable turns slowly, counterclockwise as shown by the arrow. After a vial is loaded onto a pad with the aluminum closure 10 loosely mounted on it, the chuck 5 is lowered into spring press contact therewith. This lowering and raising of chucks is well known and so is not specifically illustrated. It should be noted that the spring-loaded chucks are rotated clockwise by the ring 9. However, as in most capping machines, their rotation is synchronized with that of the turntable.

The spring-loaded chucks 5 press the vials onto the pads 23, which are urged upwardly under spring pressure, but for clarity the springs are not shown in FIGS. 2 to 5.

As the turning vial moves into position just before the marking, which is shown in FIG. 1, further movement causes the aluminum cap 10 to press first against the first character die, which, as can be seen from FIG. 3, imprints the digit 1. As the turntable continues the rotating vial next comes into alignment with the second character die, which imprints the digit 2. It will be noted that the rubber driving ring 9 in the curling or crimping bar support 8 also maintains the chuck 5 at a predetermined distance and the head of the bolt 18 prevents the type holder from moving too far to the left when it is not in contact with a vial, which occurs for a short time between successive vials, as will be clear from a consideration of FIG. 1. The width of the type holder is, of course, less than the circumference of the aluminum cap so that the mark on it is not a full circumference.

As the turntable continues to turn and the last character die marks the aluminum cap, which is shown in FIG. 3, the turntable then moves the vial further, beyond the type holder 6, and it begins to contact a curling or crimping bar 7, as is shown in FIG. 4. It can also be seen from FIG. 1 that the curling bar support 8 extends beyond the end of the curling bar at the point where the marking takes place. As the vials move around the portion of the turntable surrounded by the curling bar 7, of course being turned by their chucks, the skirt 12 of the aluminum cap is crimped over the rim 13 of the bottle, forming a tight closure. This operation is shown in FIG. 4 and continues until the closure has been completely crimped, at which time the turntable has moved the vial beyond the curling bar and its support at the left in FIG. 1. The chuck 5 then rises slightly and an unloading wheel 24 of conventional design removes the vial 2 from the turntable and discharges it. The present invention ceases when the crimping has been completed and the vial removed, and the further treatment of the vial is no part of the invention. Normally, of course, it is discharged onto a conveyor or other suitable mechanism. FIG. 1 shows diagram matically a discharge onto a slowly moving conveyor which is not shown in detail. By the same token, the loading of vials onto the loading wheel (22) also forms no part of the present invention, and any suitable well-known type of automatic loading may be used. No specific mechanism is therefore shown in detail in FIG. 1. Obviously, of course, the vials may be loaded or removed by hand, but for large scale operations automatic loading and unloading presents numerous advantages and so is illustrated.

It will be noted that no special drives for the chucks are necessary as the rubber ring (9) on the curling bar support (8) turns the chucks by friction. Rotation of the chucks after unloading and during loading is, of course, unnecessary, and this simple drive mechanism represents an advantageous elimination of unnecessary moving parts. Of course the chucks can be positively driven by mechanism in the chuck holding element (4), but this adds to complication of the equipment and so is not preferred, although it is perfectly operative and is therefore not excluded from the broader aspects of the present invention.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for imprinting on a deformable seal closure on a container with a rim or lip and completing the closure, comprising in combination,

a. a rotary turntable,

b. means for loading successively vials capped with uncrimped deformable material onto the periphery of said turntable,

. means for applying downward pressure on the cap of each vial and means for rotating said downward pressure means, whereby the vial is continually rotated at a predetermined speed,

d. a die imprinting station comprising a die holder having a plurality of character dies arranged side by side and oriented with respect to the periphery of the turntable and provided with means for forcing the character dies successively into contact with the closure cap on the rotating vial, whereby successive character dies imprint on the cap,

e. a curved crimping bar extending around a portion of the turntable periphery and positioned vertically just below the vial rim and positioned to extend horizontally nearly to the vial neck, whereby as the rotating vial is moved by the turntable along the curved crimping bar, the skirt of the closure cap, extending below the vial rim, is crimped thereunder, and the crimping bar being mounted on a support, which support extends ahead and beyond the bar at least the width of the character dies and the printing dies are mounted on said support beyond the end of the crimping bar, whereby the closures of the vials are first marked by contact with the character dies and then crimped under the vial rim.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the means for pressing down the closures and rotating the vials are in the form of chucks resiliently urged against the closures and the means for rotating the vials comprises a friction member mounted on the crimping bar support and positioned to contact resiliently the chucks, whereby rotation of the turntable causes each chuck to rotate in the opposite direction.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 in which the character dies are resiliently urged against the rotating vial caps as the vial is moved past by the turntable and means are provided for 

1. An apparatus for imprinting on a deformable seal closure on a containEr with a rim or lip and completing the closure, comprising in combination, a. a rotary turntable, b. means for loading successively vials capped with uncrimped deformable material onto the periphery of said turntable, c. means for applying downward pressure on the cap of each vial and means for rotating said downward pressure means, whereby the vial is continually rotated at a predetermined speed, d. a die imprinting station comprising a die holder having a plurality of character dies arranged side by side and oriented with respect to the periphery of the turntable and provided with means for forcing the character dies successively into contact with the closure cap on the rotating vial, whereby successive character dies imprint on the cap, e. a curved crimping bar extending around a portion of the turntable periphery and positioned vertically just below the vial rim and positioned to extend horizontally nearly to the vial neck, whereby as the rotating vial is moved by the turntable along the curved crimping bar, the skirt of the closure cap, extending below the vial rim, is crimped thereunder, and f. the crimping bar being mounted on a support, which support extends ahead and beyond the bar at least the width of the character dies and the printing dies are mounted on said support beyond the end of the crimping bar, whereby the closures of the vials are first marked by contact with the character dies and then crimped under the vial rim.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the means for pressing down the closures and rotating the vials are in the form of chucks resiliently urged against the closures and the means for rotating the vials comprises a friction member mounted on the crimping bar support and positioned to contact resiliently the chucks, whereby rotation of the turntable causes each chuck to rotate in the opposite direction.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 2 in which the character dies are resiliently urged against the rotating vial caps as the vial is moved past by the turntable and means are provided for preventing the printing dies from moving beyond the surface of the closure cap a distance greater than the depth of marking by the character dies.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 2 including high frequency horizontal vibrating means attached to the character dies.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 3 including high frequency horizontal vibrating means attached to the character dies. 